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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24341194">Never Thought I'd Say This</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/hey_its_lyn/pseuds/hey_its_lyn'>hey_its_lyn</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>TimKon Week 2020 [7]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Teen Titans - All Media Types, Young Justice - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Concussions, Confessions, Cuddling &amp; Snuggling, Developing Relationships, Disney Movies, Good Older Sibling Dick Grayson, M/M, Non-graphic injuries, Protective Kon-El | Conner Kent, TimKon Week 2020, Time Travel, Undercover Missions, Wormholes, illegal gambling</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 07:29:08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,209</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24341194</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/hey_its_lyn/pseuds/hey_its_lyn</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Kon hates time travel.</p><p>Tim hates it when Kon blows their covers because he's an overprotective jerk.</p><p>They both have a love/hate relationship with wormholes.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Tim Drake &amp; Dick Grayson, Tim Drake/Kon-El | Conner Kent</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>TimKon Week 2020 [7]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1740391</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>363</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Never Thought I'd Say This</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>TimKon Week Day Seven: Matchmaker / Sci-Fi/Time Travel</p><p>Sorry this is so late. Life is super busy right now. Also sorry because I kind of gave up on this. It was originally supposed to be more mature with sexual tension, but then I realized I can't write that for the life of me so we got soft boys instead.</p><p>Unedited because it's so late and I'm sick.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Kon hates wearing a suit on a normal day.</p><p>He hates wearing stupid space suits even more.</p><p>One would think that he could wear a regular suit in space as long as he’s somewhere that mimics Earth’s atmosphere enough to be safe. No, apparently, that’s not true. Or maybe it is, and Tim is just a paranoid hardass whose contingencies have contingencies.</p><p>Tim says it’s not that bad.</p><p>Kon counters that he was born to wear a suit so that Gotham High Society could eat him alive.</p><p>Tim rolls his eyes and makes him wear the suit.</p><p>It looks just like a regular suit on Earth, but the fabric is lined with some special, fancy, science-y fabric that’s overlaid with some spray meant to keep body heat from escaping. When he thinks about it, Kon supposes that for Tim, a suit that maintains a healthy body temperature is necessary. His circulation is already crap on a good day.</p><p>But Kon’s Kryptonian (well, half Kryptonian, but what does it matter?), and Kryptonians can withstand lower temperatures with ease.</p><p>He ends up wearing the suit anyway. Shocker.</p><p>The space ship they’re on has breathable air, but the internal temperature is colder than the human body can handle on its own without heavy gear. Apparently, winter coats and snow pants aren’t proper attire for illegal gambling rings.</p><p>Besides, Kon rather likes Tim the way he is.</p><p>And a Tim icicle is not something he wants to explain to Batman, let alone the rest of the crazy, overprotective BatFam.</p><p>So Kon wears his suit and is tugging at the collar even as he and Tim make their way down the opulent hallway.</p><p>“Quit it,” Tim hisses, slapping Kon’s hands away from his neck. “You’re going to mess up your tie.”</p><p>“Oh no,” says Kon. “Not my tie.”</p><p>Tim glares at him. Kon’s too busy staring at the little teal flecks in his unfairly blue eyes to notice. When Tim realizes that he’s not getting anywhere, he huffs and keeps walking. Kon may or may not be watching the sway of Tim’s hips and appreciating how his slacks show off his very nice ass.</p><p>He catches up with Tim just before they reach the ship’s ballroom. They’re on a space ship that mimics the massive cruise liners back on Earth, and it’s decorated in a style that Tim says is near identical to the Titanic. Kon recognizes the name and has little flashes of ‘iceberg,’ ‘crash,’ and ‘death.’ He decides to cut off Tim’s similarities there.</p><p>They’ve been stuck in their massive suite for the past two days, planning and running over Tim’s list of never-ending contingencies. Whenever they leave the room, it’s to attend meals in one of the ship’s restaurants and to scout out every inch of the ship they can.</p><p>When they get caught near the captain’s private level, Kon shoves Tim against the wall, tucks a knee between his legs, and plays it off as them being a young couple looking to have a little fun. The guard laughs and tells them to scram back to their suite and have their fun there. Kon tosses his arm around Tim’s shoulder and grins. If he enjoys the bright blush across Tim’s cheeks and along the tips of his ears, well, Tim’s too busy hiding his face in Kon’s side to notice.</p><p>Now, they’re getting ready for the first round of the underground tournament. The rumor is that the winnings awarded during the final round are more than just an assortment of different alien currencies or jewels. The secret is under lock and key, but the Titans have intel from one of their regular sources that the prize is definitely something incredibly illegal and likely inhumane.</p><p>Tim suspects human trafficking.</p><p>Kon suspects really good drugs.</p><p>Turns out, they don’t get the chance to figure it out because two hours into the tournament, an alien prince with way too many fingers grabs Tim’s ass and squeezes hard enough to make him yelp.</p><p>Kon, being Kon, slugs him in the nose.</p><p>Tim detaches himself from the apparently sticky prince’s hand, grabs Kon and yanks him away with all of his strength, apologies already on the tip of his tongue.</p><p>But then the prince snarls and launches himself at Kon, who throws the prince off of him with a legitimate growl. Tim shouts for Kon to cool off, grabs at his elbow to try and tug him back. Kon ignores him, swearing colorfully and pushing forward. Tim’s suit jacket rides up along his arms, exposing his armor and gauntlets beneath his suit, and an inhuman screech fills the ballroom.</p><p>“They’re human!” A small, rock-like creature holds her hand over her mouth, eyes wide with terror. Then, “It’s the Justice League!”</p><p>Chaos erupts throughout the ballroom. People are screaming, running, and ducking under the gambling tables as their betting chips fly into the air. Security rushes into the room, guns in hand and some even carrying what look like swords with laser blades.</p><p>Tim glares at Kon, knees the alien prince—who is still checking him out—in the groin, grabs Kon’s wrist, and absolutely books it out of there.</p><p>It takes Kon a few minutes to get with the program and start running on his own. Together, he and Tim race through the ship corridors, ducking and weaving to avoid the guards, hiding behind support pillars and once in a small closet that Tim thinks Kon drags him into for no reason other than his own amusement.</p><p>They give the guards the run around the ship, going in circles while stile making their way down to the docking bay where their ship is stored. They manage to make it to the ship without being seen, even manage to get the ship started and ready for flight without being noticed.</p><p>Of course, the second they take off and leave through the barrier of the bay, alarms start blaring, flashing red lights following them as Tim steers them away from the space ship as fast as he can manage. It doesn’t even take five minutes for the ship’s security fleet is hurtling after them.</p><p>There are plasma cannons firing at them, and Tim rolls the ship no less than three times in an attempt to avoid the blasts.</p><p>“Shit! Shit! Shit! What the hell were you thinking?!”</p><p>“This is your fault!” Kon shouts. “And focus on flying the ship!”</p><p>“My fault?! You’re the one who blew our cover over a single grope! And you try flying a ship with an angry armada of gamblers on your tail!”</p><p>“That alien was devouring you with his eyes!”</p><p>“So what?!”</p><p>Kon opens his mouth to respond, but the words are stuck in his throat when Tim yanks them into yet another barrel roll. By the time Kon’s stomach has settled, his retort has died on his tongue in favor of an undignified screech.</p><p>“What the hell is that?!”</p><p>“I think it’s a wormhole!”</p><p>“What the hell, Tim? Why are we flying straight towards a wormhole?!”</p><p>“Oh, I don’t know, Kon, maybe it’s because we’re being shot at?!” The entire ship shakes with an explosion, and alarms begin blaring overhead, red lights flashing. “And we just lost one of the engines! Fantastic!”</p><p>“Just because we’re being shot at doesn’t mean we should fly into a wormhole! What did Batman say at that last League meeting? Oh, yeah: Wormholes lead to bad things! Bad things, Tim!”</p><p>“It’s either the wormhole or getting blown up! Pick your poison!”</p><p>“Those are both terrible choices!”</p><p>“Then you shouldn’t have punched the prince in the face!”</p><p>The force of the wormhole wracks their ship. The worrying creaking sound echoing throughout the ship shows just how much the wormhole is affecting them. Neither Kon or Tim have time to continue their bickering as the air in the cockpit seems to go thin, the gravitational force too much for them to handle.</p><p>Kon is able to stay coherent longer than Tim—just long enough to see Tim’s eyes roll up into the back of his head as a sudden lurch of the ship sends him crashing forward, his forehead smacking against the ship’s control panel with a sickening crack. Tim goes completely limp across the panel, his hands hanging uselessly down by his sides.</p><p>Panic flares in Kon’s belly, but he’s not awake long enough to address it.</p><p>/\/\/\</p><p>When Tim comes to, his head is pounding and his tongue is thick in his mouth. He groans, trying to blink the grit from his eyes as he attempts to sit up in his sit. There’s something sticky on his forehead and down his cheek, and he can feel it pull at his eyebrow as he squeezes his eyes shut.  He feels hands on his shoulders, gently holding him down, words he can’t quite make out murmured above him.</p><p>“Hey… Shh, it’s okay… down… need to recover… g force too strong…”</p><p>Tim pushes up against the hands holding him down. His training kicks in, and Tim’s hands lash out with the intent to hit the pressure points in the person’s arm that will leave them temporarily numb. Before his fingers can make contact, the hands are wrapping around his wrists.</p><p>“Are you really that out of it? Tim, c’mon, man. Help me out here.”</p><p>The voice sounds concerned. Tim tries to look up at them, but his vision is still fuzzy and he can only make out a big blur kneeling in front of him.</p><p>“Tim, you’re worrying me here. Hey, c’mon, eyes on me. Follow my finger.”</p><p>What Tim assumes is this guy’s finger appears in front of him. It’s still blurry, but he can distinguish the digit in front of them from the rest of the mess around him. It moves to the side, then back to the other side. Tim blinks and tries to follow it. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he realizes he’s being tested for a concussion or other head injury.</p><p>Huh. Makes sense, with the blurry vision and the pounding thudding against his skull.</p><p>“Alright, I’m really sorry about this.”</p><p>Tim blinks. He can only watch as the blur slowly moves forward, arms slipping around Tim’s back. He feels himself being pulled forward, lifted up until the blur slides one of his arms under Tim’s knee. Being hefted into the air makes Tim’s head spin. A short, shaky gasp escapes his lips, and he sucks in a short breath and buries his head into the blur’s chest.</p><p>Batman would be screaming at him if he could see him.</p><p>But the blur is warm, and his arms feel familiar and comforting as he cradles Tim against his chest. As they begin moving, Tim wraps his arms tightly around the blur’s neck when nausea rolls over him in violent waves. He focuses on his breathing as he practically burrows into the blur’s hold.</p><p>“You’re okay,” the blur whispers. “I’ve got you, Tim.”</p><p>Tim’s stomach suddenly heaves when the blur’s feet seem to leave the ground. He whimpers, pressing his lips together in an attempt to muffle the pitiful sound.</p><p>“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I know, Tim, but we gotta move, okay? We need to figure out what’s happened.”</p><p>Tim can only breathe through his nose in an attempt to keep the contents of his stomach where they belong.</p><p> </p><p>Kon, meanwhile, is panicking. Tim is out of it. He’s nearly completely unresponsive, even though he’s conscious. He can’t track anything Kon does, from following his fingers during the brief concussion check to even acknowledging anything Kon is saying. He’s limp in Kon’s arms, only the loose grip around Kon’s neck reminding him that Tim is there at all.</p><p>He really doesn’t know what’s even happened.</p><p>He wakes up strapped to his seat, dizzy and nauseous but uninjured. Kon gives himself a full minute to reorientation himself before undoing his seat’s harness and making his way to his feet. He forgets how dizzy he is the moment he sees Tim across from him, blood slowly seeping from a cut on his head and dripping down his cheek.</p><p>He checks on Tim, and when he doesn’t wake up right away, Kon forces himself to try and figure out what happened. Their ship is almost entirely dead, only emergency systems still working. Kon is about to full out panic, training be damned, when he takes a moment to look out of the cockpit window and finds them slowly orbiting Earth.</p><p>Kon does panic then.</p><p>Wormholes that spit them out at their ‘home’ planet when they were halfway across the galaxy the last time he’s awake are bad, bad news.</p><p>Which is why he ignores the backup comms system beeping to alert him of an incoming hail. Instead, he finally checks on Tim, relieved to see his eyes open, even if they’re glazed in confusion. The comms continue to beep at him until there’s a crackle of static that means someone has overridden their system and granted themselves access to the channel.</p><p><em>“Unknown craft, this is the Watchtower,”</em> a somewhat familiar voice says through the speakers. <em>“Please identify yourself.”</em></p><p>Kon scoops Tim up in his arms and gets out of the cockpit. If the Watchtower can hack the comms, they can hack the cameras as well.</p><p>A part of him just wants to reach out, identify himself as Superboy and get help for him and Tim. But Kon can’t afford to be hopeful. The wormhole is an unknown, and the possibility that they just happened to land in their original universe at the correct point in time is unfortunately slim.</p><p>Kon can’t risk contacting the League only to find out they’re in an alternate universe where he’s an evil, brainwashed weapon or where he and Tim are murderous dictators. Even if they are in their own universe, if they’re in the past or the future, the risk of fracturing the timeline is too great.</p><p>So Kon cradles Tim against his chest and flies them towards the residential quarters. There are no cameras in their personal rooms, and Tim’s a paranoid bastard and has a lockdown protocol for his bedroom. If they can get there, Kon can activate the protocol and they’ll be safe until they can make a plan.</p><p>Tim, being a paranoid bastard, also has enough medical supplies to outfit a small med bay and a tech set up that may be able to help them figure out exactly what’s happened.</p><p>He’s halfway there when everything, predictably, goes to shit.</p><p>The low red emergency lights cut out. The generators stop buzzing, and the ship is officially dead in the water. Kon will need to get them to their spacesuits before the remaining oxygen is used up, leaving him and Tim to suffocate.</p><p>Mostly Tim, who’s officially unconscious again.</p><p>Kon curses. He spins on his heel and makes his way towards the hanger where the two escape pods and space suits are stored. He doesn’t even manage to make it halfway there before he’s surrounded.</p><p>Shit. They know the layout of the ship. Or they have the blueprints.</p><p>Either way, it’s bad news.</p><p>Kon’s arms tighten around Tim, pulling him impossibly closer to his chest.</p><p>There are two people behind him, one in front, and one stuck to the ceiling like a goddamn monkey. The lights are off, and even though Kon can still see fairly well, he can’t fight off four people while holding Tim. Not to mention that the more they move around, the more energy they spend, the less oxygen there will be.</p><p>Kon’s mind is a mess of half-formed plans and worries, but before he can do anything, a strikingly familiar figure is stepping forward.</p><p>“S.B., is that you?”</p><p>Kon nearly drops Tim. “Nightwing?”</p><p>Nightwing steps closer, and Kon can clearly make out his features in the dark. Nightwing’s costume is the same, but he himself has seemingly broader shoulders and thicker muscles than Kon remembers. His hair is cut shorter than it was when he and Tim left of their mission.</p><p>Well, guess they’re not back where and when they need to be. Such a shame.</p><p>“It’s me,” Kon says.</p><p>“What are you… Is that Red?”</p><p>Kon glances down at the unconscious Tim in his arms. “Yeah.”</p><p>Nightwing steps forward so that he stands directly in front of Kon. His mouth is pulled into a tight, pinched frown, his eyes narrowed behind his domino. He lays a gentle hand on Tim’s forehead, his expression icing over when his gloves come away sticky.</p><p>“Why’s he bleeding?” Nightwing finally seems to notice that neither of them are in their suits. “And why are you guys in suits? What happened?”</p><p>Kon figures that the brotherly concern and lack of attack means that wherever he and Tim are, the Justice League is still their ally. He bites the inside of his cheek before admitting,</p><p>“I don’t think we’re the Superboy and Red Robin you’re thinking of.”</p><p>
  <em>“What?”</em>
</p><p>Kon nods. “We were on the run from a fleet of security ships and we ended up going through a wormhole. We were both knocked out, and Tim hit his head on the dashboard. He’s not tracking and he’s relatively unresponsive.”</p><p>Nightwing strokes a hand through his little brother’s hair. “Multiverse?” he asks.</p><p>Kon’s about to say that he has no fucking idea when there’s suddenly someone standing by his side. Kon jumps in surprise, glancing over his shoulder to find Bart in the Impulse suit standing next to him. He’s absolutely grinning.</p><p>“Nah,” Impulse says, “not multiverse this time, Nightwing. I recognize this now.”</p><p>“Oh?” Nightwing’s tone is flat.</p><p>Impulse nods enthusiastically. “Time travel. I remember when this happened to our Tim and Kon.”</p><p>“You do?”</p><p>The person hanging from the ceiling drops to the ground as well, the person standing behind them going to stand by Nightwing. Beast Boy and Raven are staring at them with open interest.</p><p>“Oh yeah,” Impulse says. “This is the time when, ya know, they finally got their shit together.”</p><p>Realization lights up Beast Boy’s face, and even Raven loses some of the tension in her shoulders. Nightwing’s hand pauses its stroking in Tim’s hair as he visibly perks up. Kon just stares at them all.</p><p>“Got our shit together?”</p><p>Impulse opens his mouth, but Nightwing beats him to the punch. “Can’t say too much, Imp,” he reminds him. “Don’t want to mess up the time stream again, do we?”</p><p>Impulse grumbles. Kon stares at him with abject horror.</p><p>“Again? What did you do this time?”</p><p>Impulse scowls and crosses his arms. “Honestly, it wasn’t that big of a deal.”</p><p>The unimpressed stares of his teammates tell Kon that it probably actually was that big of a deal.</p><p>“This happened to your Tim and me?” he clarifies.</p><p>This time it is Raven who answers. “Yes. You are approximately five years in the future. Before, you and Tim disappeared for three days before arriving back at Titan’s Tower in your ship. You did not share the details of your experience.”</p><p>“Yeah, all we really knew is that Kon was super pissed off and there was brief time travel involved,” Beast Boy says.</p><p>Kon frowns. “So, what I’m getting out of this is that we should only be here for three days?”</p><p>“Most likely,” Raven says. “As long as nothing changes, your future will likely play out the same as we all recall the events of this from five years ago.”</p><p>Kon feels slightly better. Before he can say anything, Nightwing is giving one last pat to his brother’s head and stepping back.</p><p>“Let’s get you guys onto the Watchtower. We’ll get Tim checked out and we can see if your ship needs any repairs. I’ll call our Red and get some information.”</p><p>/\/\/\</p><p>Tim sleeps away most of their first day in the future.</p><p>The medic who checks him over tells Kon that he has a mild concussion and should be watched closely over the next few weeks. No bright lights, no loud sounds, no erratic movement. Kon dutifully wakes Tim up every two hours, even if it’s just so Tim can blink at him with glassy eyes before falling back asleep with a huff.</p><p>He’s actually rather adorable curled up in his bed in their shared room.</p><p>This time’s Red Robin flies up to the Watchtower nearly twelve hours after he and Tim are brought aboard. He brings some clothes for Tim, which funnily enough, are about three sizes too big. Tim must hit a growth spurt sometime between eighteen and twenty-two. This Red Robin is nearly 5’10 and has lost some of the scrawniness left over from Tim’s time abroad, replacing it with lean muscle that is nicely displayed by a new uniform.</p><p>Of course, Red catches Kon checking him out, and Kon is surprised when he merely laughs.</p><p>His Tim probably would have hit him. He likes the idea of that more than he probably should.</p><p>Dick checks in regularly and takes over watching Tim when Kon’s too tired and sore to stay awake. He wakes up after a solid eight hours, feeling leagues better than he does before. Better yet, once Kon has actually come to his senses, he sees Tim sitting up in the bed next to his, rubbing his eyes and yawning. The lights of the room are dimmed, but still bright enough that they can see everything with ease.</p><p>“Morning.”</p><p>Tim glances at him from the corner of his eye. “Good morning.”</p><p>Kon pushes himself out of bed, looking to find the shirt he unceremoniously tosses on the floor after Dick tells him to go to sleep. Tim hasn’t moved an inch.</p><p>“Dick came by about ten minutes ago,” he says around a yawn. “Said his version of us briefed the League, dropped off some clothes, and flew back to Earth to avoid revealing anything.”</p><p>Kon finds the shirt under his bed. Pulling it over his head he asks, “So what, are we just expected to hang out in our room for the next two days?”</p><p>“Pretty much. Messing with the time stream is—” Another yawn. “really bad. Knowing too much can be just as dangerous as purposefully shifting current events.”</p><p>“Yeah, yeah, the butterfly effect and all that good stuff. But we’re just going to what, sit around and nap?”</p><p>“That sounds pretty good actually,” Tim says.</p><p>Kon wants to scowl, but he can’t because everyone knows Tim never gets enough sleep, and him admitting that he wants to relax and chill out for a few days means that he really, really needs it. Kon deflates.</p><p>“You cool if I put on movies in the background? We can cover the screen if you want so you don’t have to deal with the light.”</p><p>“Sure. Dick said he’d come by with breakfast. I’m sure we can nag some old movies out of him.”</p><p>Future Dick, it turns out, is just as weak to his little brother’s puppy dog eyes as current Dick is. He caves in three minutes flat and brings them a stack of old Disney movies to prevent them from hacking the projector to get on the internet. They would never do that to begin with because Kon actually kind of likes what he’s seen of this future so far, even if he hasn’t actually seen himself.</p><p>He’s seen future Tim, and that’s enough, honestly.</p><p>They start with <em>Mulan</em> because Tim’s a sap and has a thing for badasses. Tim stays half-awake, snuggled within a pile of blankets and clutching them to his chest, his nose tucked into the soft fabric. Kon makes sure he’s awake at least once every two hours because he’s a good teammate—screw you very much, Cassie—and cares about his friend.</p><p>Dick brings them lunch after they’ve finished <em>Big Hero 6</em> and promptly falls into bed with Tim, pulling his little brother into his side and forcing him into his infamous octopus hug. When Tim even tries to complain, Dick smooshes his head into his chest to muffle the words. Tim finally gives up and enjoys the hugs. Kon knows that Tim and current Dick haven’t quite patched their relationship yet because both of them are utter dumbasses who don’t know how to communicate.</p><p>Dick leaves them alone after an hour or so, and Tim falls asleep barely ten minutes into <em>The Black Cauldron</em>. When Kon wakes him up the stupid two hours later, Tim grabs onto his wrist and doesn’t let go.</p><p>His eyes aren’t quite glassy anymore but they’re still drooping, and he’s obviously exhausted and in pain. Kon bets that Tim’s headache is actually a migraine. He turns down the volume of the movie and dims the lights even more. Tim still hasn’t let go of his wrist, so Kon lets himself be dragged into Tim’s bed, replacing Dick as Tim’s personal heater.</p><p>They’re pressed closer together than Tim and Dick ever were, and Kon wonders if Tim even notices with how out of it he is. He’s practically half on top of Kon, one leg in between Kon’s knees, his head pillowed on Kon’s chest and his arms wrapped securely around Kon’s middle. He nods off before jerking back awake several times, and Kon just sets a hand on Tim’s back and rubs soothing circles into Tim’s tense muscles.</p><p>Tim wakes up halfway through the movie and manages to stay awake. He doesn’t move away from Kon, just turns his face further into Kon’s chest.</p><p>“Thanks,” he murmurs.</p><p>“Sure thing,” Kon says.</p><p>Tim’s quiet for several minutes before he whispers, “Sorry for flying us into a wormhole.”</p><p>Kon snorts. “You’re fine. It could have been much worse than us getting stranded in the future watching movies for a few days.”</p><p>“We got lucky.”</p><p>“Maybe,” Kon says, “but there’s no reason to freak out about it now. We’ll be home in a day or so.”</p><p>Tim nods, face still buried in Kon’s chest, his cheek smooshed on one side as his hair flops into his eyes. His grip tightens momentarily.</p><p>“Why’d you punch him anyway?”</p><p>There’s no need to ask who Tim is talking about. Kon frowns, glancing at Tim’s messy hair from underneath his eyelashes. He sighs.</p><p>“I did it because I care about you. Watching you get felt up by creepy aliens bothers me.”</p><p>Tim presses his nose into Kon’s shoulder. “It happens all the time,” he says softly. “It happens to all of us.”</p><p>Kon frowns. “That doesn’t make it right.”</p><p>“Maybe not,” Tim concedes. “But you don’t blow mission covers for Cassie when someone gropes her, and it’s not because she has super strength.”</p><p>“Yeah, it’s because I’m not in love with her, dumbass.”</p><p>Tim pushes away from Kon’s chest with a scowl, his hands pressing down into the mattress and holding him up. “Oh yeah, because it’s like you’re totally in love with me…” He trails off, realization crashing over him. “Oh, shit.” He closes his eyes, shakes his head, and takes a deep breath. <em>“Fuck.”</em> His voice sounds small. “You’re in love with me?”</p><p>“Yes, you absolute dumbass,” Kon says, albeit fondly. “You’re a detective. How the hell have you not figured it out?”</p><p>Tim frowns, but it looks more like a pout. “What do you mean?”</p><p>“Dude, future you caught me checking him out five minutes after meeting me.”</p><p>“Really?”</p><p>Kon rolls his eyes. “Yes, really. I’m not exactly subtle. I shoved you against <em>a wall</em> when we were on the ship.”</p><p>“That was so the guard didn’t catch us sneaking around.”</p><p>“Tim, how many times have we been caught sneaking around and played it off as being lost tourists? I did not have to pin you against a wall and stick my knee between your legs.”</p><p>“Fair point,” Tim admits, though his cheeks are suddenly pink.</p><p>Kon laughs and takes pity. “Tim, I liked you before I died.”</p><p>It’s obvious that Tim is no longer computing. Kon gives him a break because he’s slept more in the past day and a half than in the past two weeks. Plus, his brain is still mushy from his concussion. Finally, Tim blinks and stares at Kon.</p><p>“That was nearly two and a half years ago.”</p><p>“Yes.”</p><p>“But… Why… Kon, why didn’t you say anything?”</p><p>“Tim,” Kon says patiently, though his voice is tight, “no offense, but you seemed very, very straight at the time. Trust me, I’d been there for all of your girl troubles, and there were a lot of them.”</p><p>Tim frowns. “You were dating Cassie.”</p><p>“Yeah, but it was pretty obvious I was bi if you read anything about my time in Hawaii.”</p><p>Tim briefly recalls the scandal of ‘Superman’ making out with boys at a luau.</p><p>“Sorry,” Tim says.</p><p>“You have nothing to be sorry for.”</p><p>“I know, it’s just…” Tim sighs and blow his hair out of his eyes. “My dad was still around back then, and even though we weren’t quite high society anymore, people still knew who we were. Then Bruce adopted me and I was Gotham’s favorite gossip column story all over again.”</p><p>Kon nods. “I know, Tim. Gotham is an old fashioned, homophobic bitch.”</p><p>Tim can’t help but laugh. “Yeah, yeah she kinda is.”</p><p>Kon moves slowly, giving Tim time to pull away. When he doesn’t, Kon set his hand on top of Tim’s and twines their fingers together. Tim holds on tight.</p><p>“We can talk about it more when we get home and your brain is actually working.”</p><p>“That’s probably a good idea,” Tim says, giving Kon’s fingers a squeeze. “But I think I’m put together enough for this.”</p><p>Kon doesn’t have time to react, his brain too busy stalling as he panics. Tim leans in, pressing up against Kon’s chest once again, his hair tickling Kon’s chin and nose. His breath gets stuck in his throat as Tim brings their lips together in a soft brush of a kiss.</p><p>It’s short and sweet. Their lips are both chapped, which is not nearly as romantic as it sounds, Tim still has a migraine pounding behind his eyes, and Kon’s world feels as though it’s crashing down around him, only in a good sort of way.</p><p>When Tim pulls back, his chin tucked into Kon’s shoulder, Kon finds it in himself to laugh. Tim’s lips quirk into a smile.</p><p>“So, are we really just going to keep watching these movies?”</p><p>Kon rolls his eyes with a smile. “I’d be all for that, but you still have a pretty nasty concussion.” He presses a quick kiss to the crown of Tim’s head. “When we get home, though, there’s nothing I’d like more.”</p><p>/\/\/\</p><p>The next day, Dick sticks them in their ship, and Raven gives them the coordinates of the returning wormhole that will take them home.</p><p>This time, Tim is securely strapped to his seat, and when they both wake up to a frantic Cassie and Bart hailing their ship, there are no new head injuries or bleeding cuts. Kon smiles, and Tim laughs breathlessly. Cassie screeches at them over the comms.</p><p>“What the hell happened?!”</p><p>Kon throws his head back and groans. Tim takes his hand under the control panel, and Kon smiles where no one can see it.</p><p>“Fucking time travel.”</p>
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